Late interception allows Arizona to hold off UTSA, 26-23

SAN ANTONIO — Defensive back Jared Tevis intercepted Tucker Carter’s shovel pass with a little more than a minute remaining Thursday night, clinching the Arizona Wildcats’ 26-23 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.

Down by three, UTSA got the ball back with 2:04 remaining in the game at its own 15. The Roadrunners picked up a first down on an 11-yard pass from Carter to Kenny Harrison.

But on second and 10 at the 31-yard line, Arizona’s pass rush forced Carter out of the pocket. Scrambling to his left, he tried to shovel it to a receiver, but Tevis went up and grabbed it.

With the win, Arizona improved to 2-0. UTSA, meanwhile, fell to 1-1.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, the Roadrunners manufactured an 8-play, 80-yard scoring drive. David Glasco, who had been knocked out with an injury in the second period, carried for eight yards and then went the final three off left tackle, reducing the Wildcats’ lead to 26-23.

The score was set up with a leaping catch by tight end David Morgan on a pass from Carter that covered 25 yards and carried down to the Arizona 11.

UTSA kicker Sean Ianno misfired on a 25-yard field goal early in the fourth, leaving the Arizona with a 26-16 lead with 13;17 to play.

In a hard-fought, third period, Arizona kicker Casey Skowron did all the scoring. He booted field goals of 44 and 28 yards, giving him four field goals in the game and seven in his first two outings of the year.

The Wildcats played power football on their final drive of the first half. As a result, they rallied for a 20-16 lead on the UTSA Roadrunners at intermission.

Utilizing the running game, the Wildcats moved 85 yards on nine plays, with Nick Wilson running through a hole on the right side for a 2-yard TD.

Earlier in the quarter, the Roadrunners had the crowd on its feet and a 16-13 lead.

Trailing by six, UTSA moved 79 yards on nine plays, with Kam Jones taking an option pitch for the final 18 yards.

Sean Ianno’s kick put the Roadrunners on top by one.

Later, Arizona’s offense misfired, resulting in a safety for the Roadrunners.

A high snap from center got away from quarterback Anu Solomon in his own end zone.

Seeing no receivers open, Solomon ran out of the back of the end zone to give UTSA its two points. All of a sudden, the Roadrunners had a 16-13 lead with 4:43 remaining.

UTSA couldn’t get anything going offensively on its next two possessions, setting up Arizona to make its final push at the end of the first half.

Solomon’s 85-yard touchdown pass to Cayleb Jones on the first play from scrimmage highlighted first-quarter action as Arizona took a 10-7 lead against UTSA.

Solomon found Jones on the sideline about 20 yards downfield. Jones, a University of Texas transfer, promptly out-raced the UTSA secondary to the other end zone, stunning the crowd at the Alamodome.

With Solomon running the no-huddle attack, the Wildcats scored on their first two possessions. After a 38-yard drive stalled out, Casey Skowron hit a 38-yard field goal for a 10-0 advantage.

UTSA finally got on the board late in the quarter with an 11-play, 85-yard drive. Tucker Carter threw his first TD pass of the seasson to tight end David Morgan. The play covered 10 yards, with Morgan bulling through two defenders at the goal line.

Arizona wasted little time in getting off to a fast start in the second period. The Wildcats drove 69 yards on 12 plays, setting up Skowron for a 23-yard field goal with 12:11 remaining until halftime.